Saudi Arabia key player to drive future rise in demand for minerals: Almudaifer

Khalid Almudaifer, Vice Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources

Saudi Arabia will help drive the rise in demand for minerals in the future, says Vice Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources.
 

Saudi Arabia plays a key role in increasing future demand for minerals and their value chains, as minerals are needed for the promising industries such as modern military industries, electronics, electric vehicles (EVs) and sustainable smart cities like NEOM and the Red Sea project, said Khalid Almudaifer, Vice Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources.
 

Speaking at a press briefing for the International Mining Conference today, Jan. 4., Almudaifer said based on global consensus, demand for minerals in general and strategic minerals in particular is seen increasing significantly as movement to urban areas rises, along with population and global economic growth.

Also, importantly, energy conversion trends and countries’ net zero emissions strategies will drive the demand, he noted.
 

The minister indicated that this, accordingly, will create record levels of demand for strategic minerals to develop wind, solar and renewable energy projects, in addition to the production of EVs.

Saudi Arabia’s mining strategy and initiatives focused on the minerals required to implement the energy conversion, as well as the EVs production, while leveraging on the global expertise.

Geographically, Saudi Arabia is located in the center, and can exchange its mining expertise with the other countries, given the Kingdom’s mining, industrial and economic boom.